The Obama administration scored a major success today
when Belarus announced its plan to eliminate its remaining stocks of highly
enriched uranium (HEU) prior to the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul,
Korea. Belarus is believed to have over 170 kg (374 pounds) of fresh HEU fuel,
of which approximately 40 kg (88 pounds) is enriched as high as 90% U-235.

The fissile material is stored at the Sosny Science and
Technology Center outside of Minsk and was provided by the Soviet Union for use
in an IRT research reactor, a working model of a mobile nuclear power reactor
(PAMIR), two critical assemblies, and a sub-critical assembly. The research
reactor has been out of operation since 1989; PAMIR was shut down following the
Chernobyl accident, and the critical assemblies are not in operation. However,
the Yalina-B (Booster) subcritical assembly uses both 90 percent U-235 enriched
metallic fuel, 36 percent U-235 enriched uranium dioxide fuel in its core. There
is an effort underway to convert these fuels to a 21 percent, 10 percent U-235
configuration, but this work has not been completed.

The announcement of the decision to return the HEU was
made in a joint Belarus-U.S. statement issued after U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton and Foreign Minister of Belarus Sergei Martynov met at the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Summit in Astana on
December 1, 2010. The news followed an October 8, 2010 inter-governmental
agreement between Belarus and the Russian Federation on the return of HEU fuel
from Belarus to Russia and the supply of LEU fuel to Belarus for research
purposes. The October agreement was initially believed to apply to the HEU at
the PAMIR, but now appears to be applicable to all of the HEU on Belarus
territory. It is anticipated that the fresh HEU will be blended down to LEU at
the Luch nuclear facility in Podolsk, Russia, while HEU in spent fuel will be
sent to the reprocessing plant at Mayak.

The package of inducements offered to Belarus by the
United States in return for its readiness to part with HEU is not clear from
public statements. However, incentives include Washington's support for
participation by Minsk in the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit and its development
of peaceful nuclear energy. In the past, Washington also had considered
providing assistance in the location and disposal of "orphan"
radioactive sources, as well as an invitation to join a nuclear suppliers group
known as the Zangger Committee. Earlier this year, the
White House had made an invitation to the 2010 Nuclear Security Summit
conditional on a pledge by Belarus to eliminate its HEU, terms that were then
unacceptable to Minsk.

The case of Belarus has long been regarded by the
Department of Energy as the hardest nut to crack with respect to repatriation of
Soviet-supplied HEU. Today's announcement represents a major
accomplishment for the Obama administration and a significant step forward in
eliminating inadequately protected global stockpiles of HEU.

Learn More

For more details on Belarus HEU and the politics of HEU
removal, please see: